Sparks guard Chelsea Gray, left, and teammate Jantel Lavender, center, help people find the right size of shoes during the second annual Gray Matters Shoe Giveaway on Thursday at Safe Place for Youth in Venice. (Photo by Mirjam Swanson, SCNG staff)

Sparks guard Chelsea Gray, left, and teammate Jantel Lavender, right, help people find the right size of shoes during the second annual Gray Matters Shoe Giveaway on Thursday at Safe Place for Youth in Venice. (Photo by Mirjam Swanson, SCNG staff)

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Sparks guard Chelsea Gray prepares to kick off the second annual Gray Matters Shoe Giveaway on Thursday at Safe Place for Youth in Venice. (Photo by Mirjam Swanson, SCNG staff)

VENICE — To the basketball player whom many shoes are given, much is required – at least the way the Sparks’ Chelsea Gray operates.

The two-time WNBA All-Star spent Thursday afternoon distributing approximately 400 pairs of shoes – most of them new, many of them basketball sneakers, all of them stylish – to people in need at Safe Place for Youth, an organization that for the past seven years has provided services to youth experiencing homelessness.

It was the second consecutive year she led the event, coined “Gray Matters Shoe Giveaway.”

“A lot of people have just one pair of shoes, and I have the luxury of having many pairs of shoes,” said Gray, 25, a member of SPY’s advisory board of directors. “And after every season, you see a bunch of shoes that go unused, they go for signing or whatever the case may be. I was like, you know what, there are people out here who need shoes. Rather than just food and clothes, they need actual shoes to be able to walk around in.”

She has the right idea, said Alison Hearst, SPY’s founding executive director.

“Somebody could be critical and say, ‘What does a pair of sneakers do?’” Hearst said. “It does everything. Shoes are huge. We have young people showing up with the wrong-sized shoes on, and you have to remember that the majority of people who are street-based are doing a ton more walking than we are, and they’re very much relying on their feet. So shoes are incredibly important, especially if you’ve got ill-fitting shoes.”

Gray, the Sparks’ clutch-shooting guard who averaged 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals in her third season with L.A. and fourth in the league, sought to make sure the people walking away in fresh kicks didn’t love just how they looked – but how they felt.

Others shared similar sentiments once they’d slipped into the right pair.

“I’m able to do what I (love to) do each and every day,” Gray said. “Wake up and know that you’re going to live your dream. But you know a lot of people don’t have the luxury to be able to do that. I’m fortunate enough to be able to give back, and the way I give back is with what I’m passionate about – there are a lot of basketball shoes here.”

Gray said she donated some of her own shoes to the cause, and collected many others from Adidas (her sponsor), as well as friends and even fans who chipped in with Nikes and Converse in a range of colors, sizes and styles (some of which she said she’d totally wear.)

Gray is not the only professional basketball player who finds that giving back fits nicely, nor is she alone on the Sparks in that regard.

Earlier this week, the WNBA announced that Gray’s teammate Nneka Ogwumike earned the season-long Community Assist Award in recognition of her wide-ranging community outreach efforts, an honor that came with a $20,000 donation from the WNBA and State Farm to L.A.’s BEST After School Enrichment.

Just this past season, Ogwumike’s efforts included fundraising for a redesign project benefiting 16 young people who found themselves homeless after aging out of the foster care system.

She also worked with 300 adults at the “Just Be You Pride Party” to help elevate the understanding of inclusivity among people of all ages and sexual orientations. She participated on a panel on athlete activism at the Laureus Summit. She brought together 36 elementary school students for “Tech With Nek,” a full day devoted to learning coding basics. And she hosted 25 middle- and high-school-age girls living in at-risk areas to share tips on making healthy choices at the grocery store and preparing nutritious meals.

“You know, people are really busy; Chelsea is really busy,” Hearst said. “And still she takes time to come and be part of the solution. That’s really what it’s all about.”

Mirjam Swanson covers the Clippers and the NBA for the Southern California News Group. Previously, she wrote about LeBron James and the rest of the Dream Team at the 2004 Olympics (where, yes, they took bronze) and Tiger Woods’ last (for now) major championship. Most recently, she’s covered city government, education and the occasional bear in a backyard.